snipers during their 23 days of terror. we were dependent on radio broadcast for the latest information. that was 2002. this is the age of twitter and facebook and for the curator on the sniper attacks, it would have made a difference. >> i think that the projections would have been different having social media access for the criminals would have changed their audience from just the local law enforcement audience to having a global audience. on the other hand the tools, the tools that law enforcement has access to today would have been critical in solving the case probably a little more quickly than what they were able to do then. >> reporter: this is some of the new technology. >> virtually unlimited. >> a device carrying thousands of license plates her hours.

>> we had cops stopping vehicles, identifying the occupants. we may have been able to have resolved this quicker. >> reporter: had this existed in 2002, they could have seen this plate, the one on the sniper's fearsome killing machine, dozens of times during their shooting spree. and it could have literally lifted a needle from a hay stack. now those devices have been deployed here at mike montgomery county for about two years now. dozens of them per second at 60 miles per hour. it is truly astounding technology and officers here, they only wish they had it ten years ago. reporting live with montgomery are county police, scott broom, 9news now. >> astounding is the word. thanks, scott. police have released a composite sketch of a man wanted for fondling at least five women in the springfield

area. the attacks include one this past tuesday night. in that case the woman said she was groped in front of her daughter. police now say that another woman was groped along the avenue here on september 19. they believe that there could be more victims out there, urging them to come forward. fairfax county police are searching for a high school senior who has been missing since monday. the 17-year-old brian glenn. officers were back out this afternoon in the area near safe park and fairfax where brian's parked car was found on tuesday morning. if you would know anything about where he could be, please call fairfax county police. and in d.c. police are asking for your help to find a missing teenage girl. the 15-year-old. she was last seen two fridays ago. along the 1,8 -- 1800 block of benning road northeast. take a good look at her. if you have seen her or if you know where she may be, call d.c. police. just weeks ago the defense

came down and everyone got happy at the reflecting tool. well tonight, the base at the foot of the lincoln memorial will be empty once again. surae chinn is live with more on the park services and the algae problem. we didn't see this one coming, surae? >> yeah, what a disappointment. all these visitors were not able to get as close as they would like. but check it out right now. crews are out here at dinner time, but they are still here working as fast as they can. they said that it will be frustrating to drain the pool, but that's the good thing, that they know that the new filtration system will be in place and working well. they now believe that they have the fix and they will need to double up on the treatment of gas or ozone to prevent it from multiplying. >> people need to understand that we have a new filtering

system. we're using the water now, we are are not using the city water, >> we didn't get that calibration right. this is the new system, we are trying to figure it out. we feel like we've got it here now. >> it is costing $100,000 to drain the pool. and this is just what they would like and with a new renovation, they will drain it much more often before. and so they are not obviously cleaned up, and we are still days here, back to you. this time we don't want to do it again soon. >> right. >> what feels like a developing pattern, one day after the debate. at least one of the candidates will be in virginia. governor mitt romney and his running mate are said to have appeared here in about 40

minutes. then tomorrow, president obama is scheduled to be in fairfax. we'll take a look at the day after that first debate. >> it's the first day of the rest of the presidential campaign. the denver debate in the mirror. they will hit the campaign trail in battleground states. >> how did dad do last night? [ cheering ] >> reporter: he made a surprise spot here at the action committee. the crowd and the candidates were clearly energized from what is widely viewed as the major debate victory. >> i know that this will be a close fought battle. >> reporter: at the campaign stop, the president took aim at some of romney's debate claims. >> when i got on to the stage, i met a very spirited fellow who claimed to be mitt romney.

but you know it couldn't have been mitt romney, because they have are been running around the country for the last year. and they are showing $5 trillion to pay for the wealthy. and last night, he said he didn't know anything about that. >> reporter: with election day less than five weeks away, it remains to be seen if the debate success translates into votes. both men have schedules packed with the stops in the battleground state and two weeks to prepare for their next face-to-face meeting. reporting live. >> the next debate for the presidential candidate, october receive in new york. switching gears now. imagine the heartbreak of watching your special needs child, trying to fit in with the other kids. coming up at 7:00, the four- legged helper is giving this little girl a breath of fresh air. >> looking forward to that. still to come in this half hour, a local congressman is

facing the fight of the political life as he tries to win an 11th term for you on capitol hill, top? we have finally cleared out. going to be a very nice evening. here are the numbers, despite the clouds. we have managed to make it up to 81. look at the averages, 75 and 55. we are way above the low side. record is 9 had 4. the record low of 34. we'll come back and talk about summer, spring, and late fall. we'll combine it in just three short days. but first a long weekend that means an opportunity for metro to make some progress on track work. that and the other big transportation project that you'll need to know about next.

now the national park service will plan to close the northbound lanes. around 7:15 tomorrow night. so the crews could stabilize it all here. metro will be on the red and orange lines. they will be making the long weekend here to do some work for you between the stadium and the stations here on the orange line. on the red line, the work will be between the square. trains will be sharing a single track to work to again on friday, sock p.m. and end when the system will close on pond night.

they are changing their mind about what drivers could charge during the national playoff game. on tuesday, authorizing the additional $1 surcharge for each additional passenger during the home games. they said whoa after they rejected it. the former nfl commissioner and his wife are joining the fight for same-sex marriage in maryland. they said that the couple donated $100,000 if many support of the november referendum. their son is gay and they once lived in maryland, but they currently live in the district with campaign for the cause in other states as well. one of the longest running views might be shutting down. why they are desperate for affordable housing that may have to wait. deadly outbreak spreading to more states. how does it start? what is being done for you?

that's tonight on the cbs evening news.

but listen to this, right now f 4,000 names are on a list of people waiting for a d.c. housing authority. with 12,000 subsidized housing views in the city, well, you do the math. the estimate to that is that they will wait about 20 years. and that is why the city had plan to close that waiting list for you by the end of this year. the housing authority said that maintaining the list is just an exercise for you in utility. maryland is acing among the most endangered republican congressman in the nation. the democrats in annapolis, they redrew their district adding a whole lot of democrats. they report that the l 6-year- old is now also facing the well- funded opponent. >> if you are familiar with it

all. >> reporter: he might be the only member of congress with the survival cabinet in the west virginia woods. >> and you are planning because of the supermarket that might not always be there. >> reporter: the congressman now finds his political future threat arenned. >> reporter: a democrat with a big house just outside the potomac is running a well- financed campaign. >> people can make things up with no truth. completely false, you know, like they are not saying anything about me. >> they owned a nursing home where many of them found mistreatment of seniors. >> reporter: the republican has tried to turn their business background against them. >> these are not my words. >> i'm actually very proud of what they have done, the jobs we have created. >> they have struggled with that there. he said that the federal

student loans will violate the constitution and suggested that it is the kind of thing that lead to the holocaust. >> yes, the only point that i was making, if you ignore the constitution to something good, you make it there and they are ignoring it to do something bad. >> reporter: they have tried to tie them up on the issue of abortion in the rape cases. >> yes, that is all i said. that we were f fortunate that they were relatively smaller. and of, you know, pregnancies and abortions. >> when they say now, but they have voted historically that it does not exist. >> reporter: it is probably bartlett's toughest race ever, but he says he is confident that he will survive. >> will and then we're pumping out of this view. >> reporter: bruce leshan, 9news now. >> well, bartlett's campaign has failed to vote for a couple of recent elections. the bartlett campaign called it

a basic civic duty. a weekly drought report said that the conditions have worsened in some farming states where the corn harvest will be more than halfway finished. the u.s. drought monitor map shows that 75% of iowa is suffering extreme or exceptional drought, which are the two worst classifications. now, that's up 10% from the previous week. and iowa is the nation's biggest corn producer. boy have they used some rain. >> yes. this has been going on for how long? >> a little more tonight, but nothing like, what they really are need. one tropical storm for you, some from illinois and missouri, but not enough. a great day for you, finally clearing it out. that's despite the clouds and the showers this morning. now, we will talk about the fall color with a lot of e- mails about this. i do want to remind everyone that the festival in oakland are not for this weekend, but next weekend, which will work out pretty nicely. as you needed to jump up the

divide. and other than that, along i- 81, some good colors there with a little bit of color around parts of the metro area. you go into southern maryland, just a little or no change right now. again, you'll want to plan a weekend out in skyline drive. the second or third weekend in october and a pink color in town. it does not occur until early november. and it is just fantastic outside. you'll see a little bit of the color there. not too much. some of it will cheep changing just a little bit. but 79 right now. the dew points are going down and we'll feel more comfortable. winds are northwest at 10. that will be a good wind direction. the radar combined, we will zoom up to the northern sections of minnesota and also northeastern north dakota as they had some snow today. this thing is just cranking up. the winds right now are pow to 50 miles per hour in northern

minnesota. the other couple of inches are possible for you tonight. and the cold front that is attached to that, that will be the leading edge of the real cold air. the coldest air of the season. it will be pretty close to us. it is going to take until saturday night to get on in here and so we have a couple more warm days for you before we really need to get a taste of that as well. we'll see the early morning showers. the clouds are gone and the skies have cleared. a very nice evening. temperatures are still warm. 78 in rockville. 75 in great falls. 74 in bethesda and 76 over in bowie. so the drier air will move on in. breezy and cooler tonight. less humid tomorrow. just perfect. a late shower is possible for you. i thought we might make it until night fall and just chilly and wet. so now for tonight, clearing and breezy. 54 to 52. winds will continue northwest, by the morning, most hi sunny

anded mile. no jacket will be required. the 50s and the 60s. by the afternoon, what can we say? well, i don't think that you could oversell it. mostly humid, just gorgeous. the high temperatures, 80 to 85. the winds will turn around. code green on saturday for you some showers late in the day, but still pretty nice. the upper 50s, can you say the fire on the fireplace on sunday? i knew you could. the next seven days, very nice for columbus day. sunshine and the mid-60s. that's pretty nice. 70s on tuesday. the low 70s on wednesday and also a nice day. mostly sunny in the mid-60s. >> okay, a big change. >> is there anything that they cannot do? >> i have not seen them play on out there yet. outside of that, you know, i think that they could do just about anything else. but rg3 is placing himself in a rare company.

coming up. and that will be a great rookie view. speaking of being recognized. and particularly, you know, the best south pole coming up next. krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the... number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have...

gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money... goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children.

breaking news to tell you about. right now a fire is burning downtown at 93 k street northwest. people are apparently trapped in the three-story building and

at least one person has jumped out of the window to get away from the fire. the fire department is searching for others. we have a news crew headed to the scene and we'll have more information for you when it becomes available. and now 9sports with dave owens. now on to redskins. think about when you get a gift, you hope it is shiny, expensive, and hases a long -- and lasts a long time. when christmas came, out jumps rg be. a lot of shine, yes, expensive, certainly, but will he last a long time? that is yet to be determined. thus far, the returns have been spectacular. sunday, he became one of only three rookies to pass over 1,000 yards in his first four weeks. for that he was named nfl offensive rookie of the month. mostly because of him. >> and you know every game we put up a lot of yards, we just need to make sure that we continue to try to put up more and more points, you know, the game, it is still football. it is fun. it's a lot more fun winning and

it is always that way. but you know it is still football. it is a dream come true. >> yeah, he has been awesome. it doesn't get much bigger and better than this week's game on the poll. check out some of these games. good council. that's huge. coolidge, dunbar, go to u.s.a. today. gonzalez has been outstanding this year. 21 wins, he might win the cy young award. we know this much. he won the warren spa award today. it is given to the best left- handed pitcher in baseball and how could you disagree? the top ten in the earned run average. he'll start game one of the playoffs. the orioles meanwhile, they will begin their playoff voyage tomorrow in texas. what a way to come on a magical year of the playoffs. the orioles have been great here. the rangers are the defending al champs. the manager though, he could careless.

>> to get our players and organizations an opportunity, you know, it is rewarding. but it is one thing to have a reward like that, you know, we are trying everything possible to try to get back to baltimore. >> baseball, football, they are? stage right now. hockey will continue to strangle themselves. the league continues to lock out their players. they are announcing the cancellation of two weeks worth of games. not clear if those games will be made up. but the good news, there is junior hockey in new jersey. they are going to bump the glass, and the glass was not ready. [ laughter ] good news, he was okay. they replaced the glass and his team actually won the game. how about that? >> well, that should be the way that it should end after all that, right? >> no kidding. with that we're done. the cbs evening news is coming up next. >> at 7:00, dave is here with our area's only local newscast. more on the fire inside the building that has people trapped. that will be at 7:00. as always, wusa9.com is

always on. have a good night.